Arrests and release of suspects

Lincoln and his cabinet thought the fake proclamation suspiciously similar to their unannounced genuine proclamation. They concluded someone had leaked it to the opposition press, specifically the World and Journal. Lincoln ordered General Dix to arrest Manton Marble and William Prime, editors of the World and Journal, and to occupy their newspaper offices with federal troops. Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton also ordered the arrest of the New York staff of the Independent Telegraph Company and closed its offices in Baltimore, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, while Stanton had Washington journalists Henry Villard, Adams Sherman Hill, and Horace White arrested. Marble and Prime were released on May 21, and their papers resumed publishing on May 23; the telegraph closings were rescinded after several days, and the telegraph staff and Washington reporters were released at unspecified later dates.